Please be advised that we are currently having problems with some of our users not being able to log into the site. We apologize for this, we are working to address the situation. Thank you for your patience

We are hosting one last photo contest to finish up the year. This one is quite simple. Post a geocaching related photo and a short story. Something that you like the best about the adventure that made you select this picture! That's it!

A few stickler rules and info :

1. Photos and stories must be entered in this thread.
2. You must be a BCGA member. If you are not a member become one HERE!
3. Only one entry per member.
4. Contest runs from NOW to NOV 13th and the winners will be drawn randomly from all entries at the AGM.
5. There will be a first, second and third prize.

On August 23rd myself, Teddy2k, Grafinator, kowgirl katie and my mom(Gorgeous grandma) hiked up to Lady Peak. For those who don't know Lady Peak is just SE of Mount Cheam. The trail up to the peak was hard to find at times we could see cairns going up the mountain so we followed those up most of the way. We made it up to the first look out without getting lost and taking what I think was the correct trail up. The first look out is amazing overlooking Cheam and Jones Lake. The trek up to the peak is a rocky ridge with a shear drop off on one side and a very steep mountain on the other. T2K, Graf and I left the girls back at the lookout and made our way up, what a RUSH!!! Caches placed that day on Lady Peak - GC1WT5K, GC1XNBW & GC1XNM4.

Here we are at the peak, 7,146 ft up in the clouds with Mount Cheam in the backgroud. We were PEAKED OUT!!!

In August, while out caching with my girls in Derby Reach park, we came across a juvenile Western toad. He was taking advantage of the early morning sun streaking down between the dense forest canopy and was either too comfortable to move, or was playing the "maybe he doesn't see me" card. This allowed me to move in to get a nice close up shot.

_________________Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Oliverthenakedbear was in Toronto in October 2009 to attend the Canadian Conference of Dementia. Taking the red eye flight from Toronto, he had nothing to preoccupy himself that morning until he could check in at 3pm. What to do? Geocache of course.

There are 3-4 virtual caches in downtown Toronto, but one of the best is GC6069. The story behind the cache is that Mr. Lennox, the architect for Old City Hall of Toronto, wanted to be remembered after he had built this landmark. The city officials refused to have a plaque or statue erected in his honour so out of spite, Mr. Lennox decided to leave a message that would stand the test of time. His secret message was carved along the corbels around the building. It is interspersed so it was not obvious unless you knew what you were looking for. 118 years later, it is still there.

To log the virtual, one had to go to the coordinates and walk around Old City Hall pretending to be 'Tom Hanks' from Da Vinci Code and decipher the message. Cool eh?

Thanks to geocaching, I got to log a cache, spend a great morning in Toronto, and got a tour of downtown! The picture is me, Oliverthenakedbear, in front of Old City Hall. It was my 39th find. Of course the background is blurred out so it would not take the fun out of the cache!

While caching near Logan Lake this past June we spotted this Grey owl, it was initially on the road and as we got closer it flew into the surrounding trees. It took me the better part of half an hour to get this shot, there were many others of this beautiful bird, you just have to look at the face to see this as nature at it's best. Getting this picture far outweighed the finding of the cache.

This summer we took a cruise up to Alaska. In Skagway we took a tour into the Yukon. The terrain at places was moonlike, in other places sand dunes but here is a beautiful lake, in a Panoramic shot just outside of Meadows BC, on Hwy #2.

If you are out caching in Langley (GC1RJCC), you may run into what CanadianBacon and I saw very near the cache. At first we thought it was a taxidermy wall until we looked a little closer. The picture isn't great probably because we were laughing so hard.

Well, we had #500 planned long before we found it. Back in '08, a cache became public near Parksville that required (remember ALR's?) the men to become temporary cross dressers. We couldn't resist the opportunity to drag the boys out here and throw on some sassy vestments. What you're about to view is as pretty as we get (Lori was glad to be on the camera)

Ms. Turbos and I haven't had much luck with the weather during our events this past year. During our annual "Fantasy and Fire" outdoor event, Vancouver was subjected to one of the worst thunder storms in 50 years. It was an amazing light show.

I have deep respect for everyone that hung around (even if it was just for a smiley) but this picture proves that Vancouverites really don't know to get out of the rain. Even I was standing out in the open with an umbrella. Not the smartest move. I do applaud everyone for sticking around and keeping a brave face. It was a great time even if everyone was soaked and sorry looking before nightfall.

They say at times that there are spirits in the trees & in the rocks that surround us that carry the tales of those that have gone before us. They also say those that can not see the spirits in what lies so clearly before them are doomed to forever walk the earth with an inability to use their imagination and creativity.

Caching is just that - imagination, creativity & passion for believing in your ability to do something. Being able to take an idea, a quick burst of thought and capture it's essence in a bottle for others to drink in and enjoy - almost like being able to capture the laugh of a innocent child.

Caching bring forwards exploration and seeing of things in a different light then we view the world in it's every day format - it brings forth a way to stop and smell the drops of dew on a fresh cut lawn & the warmth of 2 people as their smiles explode as they tell of their favorite adventure.

There are stories of pictures taken while finding a cache, stories of pictures taken while looking for locations to cache - then there is the story of the spiritis that speak to those that are just "passing by" that call to them to just stop and see what is up that road and to their suprirse they see multitudes of spirits speaking to them that they are driven to share with others (in about 10 months) as you know the spiritis that are contained within the rocks are those that have given their souls to protect the area. -= How many faces do you see?

We found this guy on the beach while making the short trek between caches at Porteau Cove this summer. We were on our way up to Whistler for a wedding anniversary getaway and had decided to hit a few caches along the way. A great trip all the way around!

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful hike,
that started from a parking spot on foot not on bike.
There was I, hike n’bike and the wee dog too.
Ajogger he was keen to go
Thinking that I knew
Thinking that I knew

First we tried the Snowden Road but it had a gate
So we went to Riley Lake
We didn’t want to be late
The trail it turned us all around,
until we came to a bluff.
We took a look and scaled the wall
Careful not to fall
Careful not to fall

We found the cache and signed the log
And took in the view
Hike n’bike, and Ajogger
And the wee dog too
And the wee dog too

We continued on down the trail
We had a way to go
Because we took the wrong way
We knew our legs would pay
Oh and they did pay

So this is the tale of our hike
The hike that was too far
Because we had to walk on home
To get the other car
To get the other car,

So we thank you for the geocache
And the awesome view
Just look out for next spring
Because you know what I will do

We took the kids down to the Othello Tunnels for there first time and once we approached the entrance those were the immortal words that came out of my son's mouth. Neither of them would enter the darkness of the tunnel until Dad was by their side.

On the way to Tulameen, TESKELLY and I started to see a few black bears along the way. I just happen to mention that I wanted to get a picture of one if it was close enough. Low and behold around the next bend there were two just up the slope some scrounging some early spring grass.
All of a sudden TESKELLY pulls over and says "well get your camera out".
I start getting all excited and he rolls down his window and I started snapping pictures left right and center

We were very lucky that day, as we were got to see 2 brown bears as well

Ps...photobucket is adding the black imaging on the top of the photo for some reason?

_________________ALL VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE MY OWN...not Kelly's, he has his own - ask him.

On July 31, I did my 3000th geocache with kowgirl katie in Drumheller Alberta. The trip was 9 days long, and we cached in B.C., Idaho, Montana, and Alberta. The geocache I chose for my 3000th was GC13TKG, which is along the Bad Lands Interpretive Trail at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

The trail was a nice walk and has many information boards to explain the area. After doing the cache we went into the museum which is an amazing experience. The day turned out perfect, and we knocked off more than half of the caches in Drumheller before heading out.

For me, geocaching trips like this create awesome memories, great photos, and exciting stories to share with your friends. To me, this is what geocaching is all about, making new friends and getting outside and discovering new places.

If it wasn't for geocaching I would not have this photo. After all, who would go up a mountain in early Nov. with the threat of snow, light drizzle and the temperature hovering around freezing, if not for a cache. This photo was taken last year and it did snow a couple of days later, covering the cache till spring. That's what we like about caching, it gets us out and pushes us farther than we would normally go. We are getting close to 900 and have really enjoyed the past caches and are looking forward to all the future ones.

Around a month and a half after I started geocaching, geo_canuck77 and I took my boss' Jeep up Mt. Thurston FSR in order to grab a series of caches that zuuk had placed along the way. At the highest point of the trip near GC1G3YK (TAKE OFF < AGAIN > YOU HOSER), geo_canuck77 snapped this picture of me. It really looks like I was photoshopped onto it, but it was just a really good picture taken at just the right angle. For a different picture of the same view, check out http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/c2ba9f9c-b08d-495f-9ac9-5dc61e71ef43.jpg.

In the end, we managed to snag 6 FTF's that day, which to this day, is still my record for most FTF's in a single day.

This photo was taken by RVTraveller while we were caching on the Pacific Marine Circle Route. While searching for a cache I came across this Pale Swallowtail butterfly enjoying the warm sunshine. I managed to get close enough for it to allow me a once in a life time photo showing all off it's amazing colors. This photo has become my computer wallpaper as it symbolizes the wonderful things we experience while geocaching. I only wish my geocaching braclet was turned around a little bit more.

I managed to catch the Family Extremes emerging from the Pacific Coast Rainforest after finding “542 Big Trees”, in Washington State! It was our first caching adventure South of the Border. We had a wonderful day and got as far as the Awww Shucksan Earth Cache at Mt. Baker Ski Area (which was a bit chilly, even in June!!).
It was a day of geocaching at its best: blue skies, sunshine, new places discovered and all shared with new caching buddies!!

This photo was taken of me, while out caching in Lac le Jeune area, out by Kamloops. My family was camping there for a couple days and i took the opportunity to get close to 30 caches that were in the area.

My sister, Jamie and I biked around all day raking in the cache finds. The cache we were looking for when Jamie took this picture was, Lack Of De Poles,GC1J0A3. We had stopped for a break and to change our route. (We were going the wrong way...)

This picture was taken outside Castlegar BC. at one of our all time favourite cache sites called “The Chute” (GC1X70D). That's our son getting ready to make a splash. The chute is a naturally formed rock passage, worn smooth by the water that empties into a small pool, perfect for sliding down. It’s a mountain creek, so the water is a little chilly. A little further down the creek is a picturesque 30ft waterfall. This is a cache site that we will return to many times, especially on a hot summer day.

This photo was taken during the Gold Rush Event this past July. We started off in Lytton where a shotgun start caused a mad scramble for FTF's. Everyone went their separate ways and the event was full steam ahead. Throughout the day I crossed paths with many other cachers but it wasn't until I had cleaned up the Lytton caches that I caught up with grafinator and Kowgirl Katie. We ended up teaming up for the rest of the day and decided early that we wanted to go for the full pull and score the 24 required caches to obtain a Gold Country 24K Bar Geocoin. After a lot of driving and a lot of searching we had finally reached our goal with the Marble Canyon cache which just so happened to be our camping spot for the night.

I snapped this photo of Crown Lake which looked awfully refreshing after a long day of searching for caches in dusty, desert like conditions. The lighting seemed perfect and so to were the cold beers we had back at the campsite. If it weren't for the leeches in the lake we would have jumped in...but not everything can escape Murphy and his Law.

Our geocoin says "New Places, New Friends, New Adventures". That is why we love caching. Here is a pic of Mr. Turbos in Cabo San Lucas at a cache site. It was a very hot August day and we were glad to go back to the cruise ship which you can just see in the picture.

Buses as far as you can see! While looking for the "Bigger Better Bus Stop" cache in South Vancouver, we passed by the front gate of the "bus stop". This is the new bus yard located in the Marpole area. I liked the lines of the buses, how they seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
This was a Sunday morning and the buses looked like they were just waiting for the Monday morning commute to begin.

One of the things on my "bucket" list was to log the famous APE cache. In September Peppy and I did just that. We planned the weekend and even though the weather was horrible we didnt let it stop us. We ended up having a great time and I appreciate Peppy indulging my adventures. The very next cache that we stopped at was where we found this lovely mushroom. It was about 6 inches from the cache container. I have a feeling it was poisonous but it sure was pretty to take a picture of.

I cache for the adventure, the walk, the mental game of where the lil gem is it hid. And it's been great teaming up with Loungelions who have the same spirit and attitude.
And one of cachings ironies is when wrong ends up being the adventure . Loungelions and I were out caching in Ioco on an extremely fine autumn day in a fresh washed world. A cache came up as closest and auto routing brought us to a likely place. Took one trail that didn't seem right, found another that seemed better and followed it till it vanished and we ended up stalled by a swamp. On this lovely day the afternoon autumn sunlight streamed through here and there, highlighting nature's glory. We convened on a high spot deciding to backtrack and figure out where we we'd gone astray. As we picked our way back through the forest, a big buck who was so utterly unconcerned with us that he just kept coming, passing with within 20 feet. By the time I got the camera out of my pocket, out of its bag, turned on, he
was behind a large tree so was only able to get the one shot before he veered off and vanished in the woods. At least the memory of the whole event is in our minds.
If auto routing had steered us true we'd never have had this moment. Sometimes what seems like a delay is simply part of the adventure of caching. We did make it to the right trail and found our nicely hid cache yet the memory of the 'wrong' trail is what stands out most.

Since Mr.C and Mrs. C are both BCGA members and we both could NOT decide between these two... here goes...

This is Mr. C's Entry: On a very fun day out caching with goinggone, we stumbled upon an unusual site. On the trail to Woodhenge(GC1QXHV) we came across what looked to have been an Eagle Feeding Ground. Along with a few eagle feathers, we got this really cool looking picture of all the fish bones.

This is Mrs. C's Entry: On the same day of caching with goinggone we were up getting the cache nelbo(GC11CY4) when all of a sudden we heard this weird noise.... "is that someone hammering??" we had noticed that there was another car that was parked at GZ when we arrived and it didn't seem to crazy for other cachers to be there. But then we looked up! There on the rock face 1/2 up this mountain was... The Rock Climber!

It was so hard to choose a photo from all the geocaching adventures I've had this past year. The Great Coal Rush GC1HMDA was a highlight. The Tulameen, the turtles, connecting with our cacher friends, meeting new cachers, the jeep, the cabins & hundreds of coal mining artifacts, getting lost (not really, we knew where we where), poker cards (forgetting to turn some in), the barber shop at the Coalmont Inn, Potluck dinner and much more.

Last edited by hollyburn on Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:33 pm; edited 4 times in total

Family Extremes decided to place the FVRT in our journies today, and snapped this photo of Mr Family Extremes showing off his dual-citizenship and his ability to "sit on the fence post".... lol The arrival of a new TB -- "Illegal Alien" added to the fun of placing this unique grandfathered cache!
s619.photobucket.com/a...rol008.jpg

Last edited by Family Extremes on Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

Cache called Rock Carving by Mudwick.
That is supposedly the self portrait of a man who lived in the cave (left of the picture) for I think 2 or 3 years in the years around 1925. Cache is just off the island highway and surrounded by rock quarries. Nice place barely anyone at all knows about, except for geocachers

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forumYou cannot attach files in this forumYou cannot download files in this forum